WHILE orienting freshmen Law students, I was reminded of that time when I was still like them, vibrant, enthusiastic and full of life, thrilled and nervous at the same time.
That time, getting the mandated law books was like miracle, owing to the fact that each law book was costly, and it took an extra effort to solicit money from my father.
But somehow, he managed to provide me with all the books that I needed, plus some. And it became a habit to spend the whole morning and most of the afternoon reading those books. It was not easy.
Building the momentum took some time because after just a few pages, on the initial days of reading, the eyes would right away start complaining. And it was a gargantuan task to continue reading some more pages, until the eyes hurt and watered.
The oral exams was a big help, though.
One teacher was fond of oral recitations, he would assign 30 Labor cases per session day and he would ask us to recite the facts of the case, the legal issues and the ruling of the court. If one failed, and that was the usual thing, the student would be required to stand for the whole period. Yes, he made us stand because either we failed to read the specific case he wanted us to recite or we completely forgot our readings.
The physical act of standing was not humiliating though, the fact that your school friends who passed by the corridor and could see us standing like fools, was. And it became a habit of sorts, where that horrible teacher would pick his “favorite” targets, every MWF, and every week for that matter. The moment one became a target, then he could always expect his name to be called per session. One such hapless victim was a female nurse who was always called for oral recitation by that horrible and devilish teacher.
And worse, at that time, we had to read the SCRA for the cases assigned, and there were only very few SCRA books available in the library. And there were many of us slaves who labored to do the readings in the library. There were no cellphones then, or AI, for that matter, so there was no choice but to read the SCRA.
And that was just for one subject for the day, and there were other subjects on the same day that also required daily readings, at least 30 pages per subject.
* * *
But somehow, we managed to pass one sem, then another sem, until graduation day. And when time for Bar review came, it was also not easy because there was only one destination for us barristers – Metro Manila.
We had to pick either UP or Ateneo, UP for a more “provincial” atmosphere and Ateneo for the sosyalan og dating kunohay because it was in Makati.
I enrolled in Ateneo because most of my close barkadas were there too. And right there and then, the review expenses started to spiral, review fee, review materials, board and lodging, transportation, photocopy and miscellaneous expenses, plus more.
Again, my doting father provided the means and I got what I badly needed at that time.
Fast forward many years later, I managed to do a lucrative private practice.
It helped that my father in law assigned me to do a lot of typing works, using that sturdy manual typewriter that I used in sending memos and school communications, as well as in preparing my pleadings and legal memos.
Typing a flawless or error-less one-page memo with that manual typewriter was nothing short of a miracle for me. And it was very frustrating too.
Like you have already reached two lines from the last line at the bottom and then you committed error in pressing the wrong key or you miss two words or lines, and voila, the whole pages becomes dirty, especially so that you are typing 5 to 6 pages, one ordinary bond and the rest are onion-skin bond paper. Worse, you have to start again from the very beginning. Unlike now where the computer saves and stores the data and you can make corrections any time before printing it, or print it another day, all in original and shiny US bond paper.
* * *
Nowadays, well, no need for the SCRA because Meta or Google can help do all the research, all at the tip of the finger with one’s cellphone or laptop or ipad.
No need to shuffle for the whole case because Meta or AI can do the summary, either by reading or simply listening, at your most convenient time.
And if you have Ray-Ban or Meta Wayfarer glasses, then Meta can dictate by voice through your eyeglasses any information that you want.
Cute.
Of course, that same glasses can take pictures or make a video recording in crisp color picture, without anybody knowing it.
Also cute.
